The Knicks have played three playoff games with Carmelo Anthony in a starring role and though not a large sample, it’s enough for us to draw several conclusions. The first one is that the Knicks will never win anything with Melo on their team. Here’s why…
#7 Carmelo Anthony has been taken out of his game in 2 of the 3 playoff games vs the Miami Heat. Can the Knicks ever get to that ‘next level’ with Carmelo? Photo: iamnba.com
Carmelo Anthony is Allen Iverson with 5 more inches and 30 more pounds, and he has as many rings as Iverson. After nine years in the league, Carmelo has passed the first round of the playoffs just once. Nine years!
So just how has he played in his first playoff series with the Knicks? Game one was abysmal. He shot 3 for 15. A complete non-factor. Game two he took 26 shots and made 12 of them. Game three was probably his worst of the three because even with LeBron in foul trouble and left sitting on the bench for over seven minutes, Anthony finished the night going 7 for 23; that’s 30.4 % shooting folks!
And here is what makes that so unbelievable and proves that he’s not ready for primetime and does not belong with the more MVP caliber type NBA players-The majority of the night he was guarded by Shane Battier who completely took him out of his game. Shane Battier?! Could you imagine Shane Battier taking Kobe out of his game? Or shutting down Kevin Durant or Josh Smith? He’s making as much as they are and demands the ball as much as they do, so why can’t he play as well as them? Shane Battier is a nice player but when was the last time he garnered a Defensive Player of the Year Award?
Except for a few minutes in some games, Carmelo simply cannot play defense. He also does not help the other players on his team play any better. And, more importantly, he does not come through in crunch time; not when he ends up shooting a dismal, non superstar-like 22-64 or 34% from the field through three games.
Then there’s the drama he brings to the table; first when he came back from a groin injury which was right after the Knicks, via Linsanity, went 7-0. The question was, could Melo be happy and get the ball enough with Lin on the court? The next ten games after Melo’s return, the Knicks went 2-8 while Anthony averaged just 19 points a game. Then it was can Carmelo co-exist with Amare? Then how long can Melo thrive under D’Antoni’s run & gun system? Since he attracts the most attention and gets paid the most, he should play the best, right?
Look, if Carmelo was the second coming of Larry Bird (which he probably thinks he is) then Denver would never have let him go in the first place. But it didn’t work out there and it’s not working here. It will never work here. If I could whisper into James Dolan’s ear the way Isaiah Thomas can, I would tell him to unload him somewhere and get someone who is unselfish, can score, and play D.
Carmelo got the money he wanted, got the team he wanted, gets to play in the World’s Greatest Arena, and was instrumental in getting Mike D’Antoni fired leading him to get the ISO’s under Mike Woodson that he so desperately longed for every night. So what’s the problem? The problem is he’s a fraud. He’s just Allen Iverson with 5 more inches and 30 more pounds and that’s all he’ll ever be.
Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony…one in the same. Photo: Doug Pensinger/Getty Images North America
FANTASY FURNACE 
Did you know that Carmelo Anthony (16-35) has the lowest playoff winning percentage in NBA history?
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That’s a stat I did not know about Sam. I am not surprised however. I knew given his history that it couldn’t have been very high but not shocked that it’s the lowest. Just validates what I had to say.
Thanks!
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Normally you know we agree on sports, but you left out one important piece about comparing carmelo to AI … Iverson in his prime got the Sixers to the NBA finals granted it was against a dominant Laker team (2000-01) and Iverson won MVP that same year. Was also 4 time NBA scoring champ. By the way, does everybody remember what the Knicks look like before Amare and Carmelo came to NY? Remember Marbury, Crawford, randolph, Curry Nate Robinson, David Lee?? how awful that team was… well it took two more years of awful loses and awful players but The Knicks eventually got back to being decent. That is where this team is now decent. Can Knick mgmt take the next step and make them great?
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A valid point regarding Iverson. He did lead the 76ers to the finals. The Knicks did have some failrly talented & competitve players when they had Wilson Chandler, David Lee, Danilo Galilnari, and Chauncey Billups. They just weren’t allowed to stay together long enought and then the Knicks were sucked up in the LeBron seepsakes while trying to dump the load of cash 7 contracts that Isaih Thomas levied on them. Also, since the days of L.J., Anthony Mason, Patrick, and Oakley, they just don’t play defense. That’s why you gotta love Mike Woodson, who finally has brought some semblence of a defense to N.Y.
As for Melo, yeah, he scored 40 last night but you know all too well that that performance is not sustainable because he’s so inconsistent. He scored half the points in game 3 as he did in game 4. In his last 3 reg. season games he scored 12, 39,17. His season averages of 6 boards, 1 steal, 1 three 3.5 asssits are not MVP numbers. Never said he couldn’t score, Never said Iverson couldn’t score.. They are talented players who demand the ball and make their teams live and die with how they perform. AI took his team to the finals once-you’re correct. Melo has never gotten past the first round.So maybe AI deserves a little more credit than I showed him.
htey perform on any given night. Would you agree with that?
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Ignore the last sentence. Written in error..obviously-
Thanks for the comment though. These are the types of rebuttals I love to hear!!!
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I’m not ready to throw in the towel on ‘Melo just yet. Easy for me to say since the Knicks aren’t my team, I know. Game 4 aside, he can’t shoot the ball 100 times a game. But they do need a coach who commands some respect, cause they have enough talent to do more damage than they did this season.
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He’s still very talented. I just think the Knicks would be better off with someone less selfish, more consistent, and who’ll play with any teammate and/or coach.
Trust me, he will not score 40 points on Wednesday…
Thanks so much Cayman!
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I remember Knick fans in the media and many of my friends screaming for knick mgmt to do whatever you have to do to get Carmelo… my feeling was then as it is now …they gave up too much for him I would have called Denver’s bluff they were the ones trying to unload Melo quickly. I agree with the comment that the Knicks need someone in the locker room to command respect. is Mike Woodson that guy??? Dont’ forget the knicks once upon a time ago Had an offensive coach Don Nelson who made the mistake of trying to run the offense through Anthony Mason when he had a Franchise player Patrick Ewing and what did it get him ??Fired!!!!! He was replaced by ?? a defensive minded coach Jeff Van Gundy …who ended up taking the Knicks to the finals. Fast forward to now the Knicks had a offensive coach in Mike Dantoni who tried to run run run and jack the ball up in 7 seconds or less, when he had ISO king Carmelo Anthony. That got him fired…replaced by…Mike Woodson who stresses …defense and runs the offense through …Melo… see a pattern?? Can Woodson be the voice the players respect or will they throw money at Phil Jackson? I am not ready to run Melo out of town, he wanted to come here not New Jersey, not Miami or LA but here in NYC. lets’s show some love to someone who wants to play here not named Lebron.
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You raise some good points. I think that Mike Woodson IS that guy. i do not want Phil Jackson and his 7 rings here. He’ll want to make wholesale changes which means starting over yet again. On the posititve side he’ll attract some good players because of his reume. On the negative side, the team will change and he won’t be getting more than a 3 yr. contract. (What is he like 67 now?) Also, (and this is rhetorical) who do Knick fans think is more hungry; Jackson or Woodson? Enough siad.
I was never one of those who clamored for Carmelo. I was very content with Chandler, Danilo, Billups, and Lee before them. How many players have the knicks gotten rid of in or near their prime who then went on to have pretty good careers? Ariza, Camby, Zach, Kurt Thomas, now Gallinari and Chandler…
Melo hasn’t won anything in now his tenth year in the league. In fact, as I’m sure you know, Denver did pretty well without him in the months following the trade. He doesn’t play with the intensity that Patrick did, Oak did, or Amare does, or Iman did. And he’s not consistent as i pointed out above. You can bank on him not dropping 40+ points again on Wed.
Van Gundy built a team of defense minded players. No way that Woodson will ever count on Melo to play D consistently. That’s not who he is and after 10 years you just can’t teach him to change his game. He’s a scorer who will get you 6 reb. and a steal a game. That’s it. When is the last time you saw him diving after a loose ball?
Thanks so much for the comment! (Didn’t mean to go on a rant but that the frustrated Knick fan coming out in me…)
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No need to apologize for the rant ..this has been a healthy debate and you make valid points as well. Looks like you will get your wish on Woodson returning. the Knicks have opened up talks to give him a new contract. By the way , I understand about being frustrated the last time the knicks won the NBA title ..nearly half the teams in the league didn’t exist, Richard Nixon was President, I was in Jr high school, the Jackson Five was my favorite group and gas was cheap and people waited on odd and even days to get it. So yes it a been a long time coming to get ring number 3
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“Thanks for the memories….” For a minute there I started to hum “A B C..it’s easy as 1-2-3..”
Yeah 39 years is a way too long to wait for another championship. Winning teams start with good owners which the Knicks do not have. But look at the bright side…at least you HAD gas in Ft. Greene. My parents would wait on line sometimes and then out came the attendant to tell us, “sorry, we’re out of gas”. I guess he didn’t realize the pun in that ..
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Dont forget its not always about ownership it’s about the situation. If Pat Riley pulled Starks and puy in Blackmon when starks was shooting brick Patrick Ewing would have had his title The Knicks would have had a free ride for the rest of the decade and us Knick fans would not be seething at waitiing yet again for a title/
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Yep. What did Starks shoot, like 2 for 18? I don’t know why Riley, till this day, kept him in for so long..That was gut wrenching!
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As a staunch Knicks fan, you know this post has me leaning back in my chair thoughtfully and objectively reading all the info LOL
Here’s my thing, Melo is not a leader. He wasn’t at SU. He wasn’t in Denver. He won’t be in NY. People talk so much sh*t about LBJ, but when he’s on the floor, he’s the general and he plays like it. His teammates respect him on the court. He was that way in Cleveland and even more so in Miami w/ Wade’s injury-prone body. LBJ may be kinda insecure (hence his constant, childish nail biting). But on the floor, it’s straight grit. Because truthfully, if LBJ played w/ the lackadaisical attitude Melo has, the Cavs would’ve easily been out of the 1st/2nd round consistently too. Melo just doesn’t have that the gene in him. In a way, demeanor wise, Melo reminds me alot like T-Mac’s stint with the Magic; still relatively young, tremendous scorer, but it’ll never be enough.
And I totally agree w/ your statement of how Denver has done great w/out him. At 1 point in the month of March, Gallo had a better shooting % and better FT % than Melo. Unreal! Even if they do get knocked off by the Lakers, Denver has 1 of the best benches in the league thanks to this deal w/ NY.
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